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In this article we will show you how to Minimize Windows Program to System Tray on windows. So you’re using your Windows 11 or 10 computer, and all of a sudden, one or more of the open program or app windows shrinks down to the taskbar. You’ve chosen to get them back up, but the problem is still there.
When you reduce the size of a program or game, it usually goes to the taskbar. This makes it easy to get to when you need to make the most of it. But sometimes you don’t need a program on your taskbar if it just needs to run in the background, like when you’re getting files in your browser.
When that happens, it’s best to move Windows 11/10 apps to the system tray. Some programs already have this choice, but many do not. Several third-party tools let you send any Windows 10 program straight to the system tray by using the minimize option or a hotkey. You can also go to the official Microsoft support site to know more information.
Ways to Minimize Windows Program to System Tray on windows
Using RBtray to Quickly Minimize Almost Any Window to Tray
RBtray is a small open source program that works in a very clever way. You only need to right-click on a window’s close button while RBtray is running. When you left-click normally, a window will be shrunk down to the dock. The program buttons are in the notification area, where you can left-click on them to bring back the program windows.
The system does not run RBtray. So every time you want to use the app, you’ll have to start it up again. This isn’t a big deal. You can just put a link to the program on the desktop or in the start menu. If you want to be a little more fancy, you can set it up as a starting program so that it starts automatically every time Windows starts. Here’s how the program works:
- Download RBtray and unzip it to a location of your choice.
- Run the program from its folder, or via a shortcut.
- The first time you run RBtray you’ll get a window with some instructions, select OK to move on.
- RBtray is now running, but it has no icons or other indication that it’s doing anything.
- Right-click on any minimize button to minimize its window to the notification area.
- Alternatively, hold Shift while right-clicking on the title bar of any Window for the same effect.
- You can minimize the active window with the keyboard shortcut WIN+Alt+Down arrow.
- To close RBtray, run it again and the program will ask you if you want to close the copy that’s already running.
Using Minimize to Tray to, Well, Minimize to the Tray
Minimize To Tray is a movable app that is free and open source. Since it’s movable, you don’t have to install it. You just need to get the tool and run it. This also means that it won’t start up automatically every time you start Windows. So you might want to make a link and stick it to your taskbar or Start Menu. It’s pretty easy to use Minimize to Tray. Here are the steps:
- Download Minimize To Tray and unzip it to a location of your choice.
- Run the program from its folder or from a shortcut you’ve created.
- Switch to whichever window you’d like to minimize to the tray.
- Press Alt + F1 and that window will minimize to the tray.
- To restore a window, you can use Alt+F2, or right-click on the app’s tray icon seen here.
Actual Windows Minimizer
Both of the earlier tools are free, but Actual Windows Minimizer might be a good choice if you don’t mind spending a few dollars to move windows to the notification area. You can try out a trial version of the program to see if the extra polish and extra features are worth it to you.
The first big difference between this app and the other two is that it has a built-in choice to run the program when the computer starts up. You can set up any app to run at startup with a little work, but a method that only takes one click is nice.
Actual Windows Minimizer is also cool because it adds an extra button to program windows. This way, the standard functionality of the minimize button is still there. You can also change the way that the usual minimize button works. You can also tell certain programs that start up when the computer does to automatically move a window to the tray.